TESTBED 4 - Compact Rescue Crawler
Leader: Michael Goldfarb (Vanderbilt), Wayne Book (Geoergia Tech)
Statement of Project Goals
Develop and demonstrate a fluid-powered compact robot crawler with significantly improved force, power, and energy capabilities relative to motor/battery-powered versions, and to demonstrate intuitive, effective, and efficient human control of the multi-legged testbed.
Project’s Role in Support of the Strategic Plan
The Center will both significantly improve existing fluid power applications and will introduce new transformative approaches to fluid power technology. The primary role of this testbed is to concretely demonstrate the latter (the introduction of new transformative approaches to fluid power). The testbed serves several of the Center’s “Key Strategic Goals” as stated in the strategic plan, including the development of “new to the world” transformative technologies, the potential jump-starting of new industries, and the goal of embracing the stewardship of society.
